This Week in Crusader Soccer: The second season for Valparaiso women’s soccer begins on Saturday afternoon as the Crusaders begin the Horizon League Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. against Butler at 11 a.m. CDT. The Crusaders enter the championships as the fifth seed while the Bulldogs come in as the fourth seed. The contest will mark Valpo’s first postseason opportunity as members of the Horizon League.

On the Air: Saturday’s match at Butler will be broadcast live on the internet at www.sportsjuice.com. Valpo’s student station, WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) announcers will handle both the play-by-play and the color commentary of the match.

Series Notes: Butler leads the all-time series against Valparaiso 4-0, including a 2-0 win in Indianapolis, Ind. on September 25, 2001 in the only meeting on the Bulldogs’ home field. Butler defeated Valpo 2-0 back on September 30 of this season in the Crusaders’ first ever conference match as a member of the Horizon League.

Scouting Butler: The Bulldogs enter the Horizon League Tournament as one of the league’s hottest teams, having won four straight matches and six of their last seven. Butler wrapped up the regular season last weekend with a 2-1 victory at Youngstown State and a 3-1 win at Cleveland State. First Team All-Horizon League pick Angie Muir leads the offense with 26 points on 10 goals and six assists this season. Carrie Twyman, has added six goals on the year. Abbie Kaul also earned First Team honors for the Bulldogs, having posted three goals and an assist. In goal, Annalise Larkin has played a majority of the minutes, sporting a 1.03 goals against average and an .822 save percentage to go along with four shutouts.

Wrapping Up Last Week’s Action: Valpo wrapped up the regular season dropping a 1-0 decision to Wright State in overtime last Friday evening in Dayton, Ohio. Amber Kasmer scored the match-winner on an assist from Amy Miller 6:14 into the extra session. The Raiders outshot Valpo 17-5 for the match but both teams had four corner opportunities. Erin Murray made two saves in goal for the Brown and Gold while Meghan Hackerson had three stops for Wright State.

Thomas and Michl Earn Second Team Honors: Junior Jackie Thomas and sophomore Ani Michl each were named to the All-Horizon League Second Team for their play this season. For Thomas, it is her third All-Conference selection, having been named First Team All Mid-Continent Conference the last two years. This is Michl’s first time being honored by a league.

Pappas Named to All-Newcomer Team: Lynnea Pappas was named to the Horizon League’s All-Newcomer Team for her play as a freshman. She has scored two goals and added three assists as a midfielder.

Thomas Earns Academic All-District Honors: Sophomore defender Jackie Thomas has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V First Team as voted on by CoSIDA. The public relations and sports management major has a 3.85 cumulative grade point average in addition to leading the Crusaders with four goals and nine points this season.

Valpo Has Record-Tying Home Season: The Crusaders have wrapped up the 2007 regular season at home tying the school record with seven wins at Eastgate Field. Valpo also won seven home matches during the 2005 season when the Brown and Gold went 7-1.

Win Total Among Best Ever Already: Valparaiso’s 10 victories on the season already assure the Crusaders of a tie for the third best win total in school history, matching the 2001 and 2004 teams. The 2005 and 2006 squads each won 12 matches.

Goals Against Average Currently Second Best All-Time: Valparaiso enters the postseason having allowed just a 0.94 goals against average, surrendering 17 goals in more than 1,633 minutes of action. The current GAA is second best in school history, behind the 2006 team’s school record of 0.86.

Murray Sets Matches Played Record: With Erin Murray’s appearance between the posts for the Crusaders against Wright State in the regular season finale, she moved into sole possession of the top spot for matches played by a goalkeeper in Valpo history. She passed Amy Cavanaugh (1996-1999) for the top spot with her 70th appearance.

Murray Keeps Adding to Shutout Record: Erin Murray recorded her fifth and sixth shutouts this season against Youngstown State and Cleveland State earlier this season, giving her 20 for her career. Her school record is the most clean sheets for any Crusader, male or female, in school history. The six shutouts this year are tied for the school’s single season record, matching her own total from 2004.

Thomas Makes Goals Count: Jackie Thomas continues to lead the Crusaders in scoring with four goals, all of which have resulted in match-winners for Valpo. Her four match-winners are tied with Lori Moore (2000 and 2001) and Lori Johnson (2006) for the most in a single season in Crusader history. In addition, Thomas now has five career victors, tied for sixth all-time.

More Winners: Lori Johnson, Brittany Derksen, and Kendall Brown all have moved into a tie for third place on the career match-winning goals list with six each. Derksen and Brown each registered their sixth last weekend in the two victories.

Five Among Scoring Elite: Valparaiso currently has five players among the top-10 in school history on the all-time goal scoring list. Junior Kendall Brown has moved into a tie for third all-time with 18 goals while classmate Lori Johnson is alone in sixth place with 12 for her career. Sophomore Sarah Jewell has moved into a tie for seventh on the scoring charts after posting goal number 11 earlier this season. Brittany Derksen now has 10 career goals, moving into ninth place alone while Jackie Thomas is tied for tenth in school laurels with eight tallies.

Several Crusaders on All-Time Assist Charts: Kendall Brown and Dana McGlone have moved into a tie for seventh place on the all-time assist list at Valpo with eight career helpers. Lori Johnson and Laura Murphy are all tied for ninth place with seven assists in their career.

Valpo Sets School Shutout Record: The Crusaders have shutout eight opponents this season, setting the school’s single season record. This year’s team passed the 2004 squad which had blanked six opponents.

Murray Tops in GAA and Save Percentage: Erin Murray’s 1.17 goals against average for her career is best in Crusader history. In addition, the Crusaders has a .782 save percentage, also tops among anyone ever wearing the Brown and Gold.

Michl Scholar-Athlete of the Week: Ani Michl was named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week on October 2 for her efforts both on the field and in the classroom. Michl had two goals against Indiana State for her on the field accolades and in the classroom was an All-Academic Team member in the Mid-Continent Conference last year.

Seniors Best Class Ever at Valpo: The six seniors that are wrapping up their careers with the Crusaders have won 44 matches in four years, the most of any graduating class in Valpo soccer history. They will graduate having posted the only four winning seasons in the history of the women’s soccer program at Valparaiso.

Valpo Finishes Higher than Prediction: The Crusaders were selected to finish in sixth place in their inaugural season as members of the Horizon League according to the preseason poll conducted of the league’s head coaches. However, Valparaiso exceeded expectations with their fifth place finish.